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Peacock in a national park in India (archive photo)
Photo: guenterguni / Getty Images
Peacocks are known for their beauty and grace.
For this they were already valued in ancient times - they are considered the oldest ornamental birds.
But in New Zealand, farmers in particular are not likely to have an eye for the elegance of the animals at the moment.
Because peacocks have become a plague on the island nation.
They destroy fields and devour pastureland.
The blue peacock (Pavo cristatus
)
actually comes from the Indian subcontinent, where it lives in the primeval forests.
But it also ended up in New Zealand as an ornamental bird.
Some animals somehow got into the wild, where they multiplied by leaps and bounds.
According to the New Zealand Ornithological Society, the peacock, with its preference for rough and wild habitats, has spread mainly to New Zealand's North Island, as the Guardian reports.
But it has also been found in parts of the South Island.
The fact that the animals were able to spread widely is also due to the lower number of their natural enemies such as possums, ferrets, ermines and rats.
The populations of these animals have declined, rats in particular have been systematically hunted because they attacked New Zealand's unique bird life.
"When there were still many predators, peacocks weren't a problem at all. But now they have few enemies and plenty to eat," said Grant Adkins, spokesman for the Federated Farmers, an agricultural association in the area.
"Peacocks love rye grass, corn and clover. They like to wander around and eat the fresh, green shoots and crops," the Guardian quotes the farmer.
Adkins estimates the number of peacocks in his district to be thousands.
According to the bird protection website "New Zealand Birds Online", up to a hundred birds have been spotted in a single field.
According to the farmers, the authorities have no interest in controlling the populations.
Adkins had therefore already in 2018 in a guest article for the newspaper "New Zealand Herald" called for consequences in order to protect crops and pasture areas.
But according to the Guardian report, the Ministry of Conservation confirmed that peacocks have not been a major issue so far.
Instead, the focus was on combating pests such as possums and rats.
The New Zealand government has committed to completely eradicating invasive species such as rats, ermines and possums by 2050.
Catching these animals has become popular and is being promoted.
For example, a bar on the University of Wellington campus promised a beer to all students who presented a dead rat.
Peacocks are smart and quick to learn
In recent years, farmers themselves have tried to decimate the peacock population by shooting them down.
But the birds are clever and have been known to be very careful in the wild.
They quickly learned to keep enough distance from people.
According to ornithologist Tony Beauchamp, New Zealand's feral peacocks are a rare phenomenon around the world that has been known for some time.
Years ago the media reported in New Zealand about animals wreaking havoc in large numbers through settlements in suburbs of Auckland.
They came from nearby green spaces and left their droppings on streets and front gardens.
Experts believe that more knowledge about animal behavior in the wild is needed to tackle the problem.
This is the only way to develop effective strategies to contain the plague.
Knowledge is sparse as the birds prefer to live in wild and remote regions of the country.
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